The early history of the Firefall dates back to the late nineteenth century,
and has been credited to an Irishman by the name of James McCauley. Some
of his story is well-documented, but details surrounding his contribution
to the Firefall are not as easy to pin down.

Here is what we know. In 1871 James McCauley obtained permission from
the Yosemite Board of Commissioners to build and operate a toll trail
to Glacier Point. The trail was to start at the base of Sentinel Rock,
then climb over 3,000 feet to its destination at Glacier Point. For the
task, he hired Yosemite road-builder John Conway and a team of 9 men,
completing the trail over the course of two summers. The project cost
McCauley $4,200, which he earned back in tolls over the first two years
after opening the trail.

With convenient access to Glacier Point now a reality, innkeeper Charles
Peregoy built a small hotel at the overlook, completing its construction
in 1873. Hikers ascending McCauley's Four Mile Trail to reach Glacier
Point could now elect to rest for the night at The Mountain House, with
its stunning views of Half Dome and the rest of Yosemite Valley.

McCauley leased The Mountain House in 1877, but didn't end up operating
it himself until the year after his marriage to Barbara Wenger in 1879.
The McCauley family ran The Mountain House from 1880 through the summer
of 1897. Barbara prepared all the meals and did the housekeeping, and
James waited table, tended bar, and entertained the guests.

Now, one account recalls that in 1872, McCauley built a fire near the
edge of Glacier Point to entertain his hotel guests. A variation on the
account suggests that the fire was built to cook that night's dinner.
Then McCauley became upset that not enough people showed up, and out of
anger and frustration, ended up pushing the fire over the cliff. Those
who witnessed the spectacle on the valley floor were delighted and amazed,
and James McCauley had a hit on his hands.

As colorful as this account may be, it is probably somewhat of a distortion
of the truth. If the fire was built to entertain guests, it would have
had to occur in 1880, or at the very earliest 1873, when The Mountain
House was completed. However, there are indications that McCauley did
not actually find innkeepers to run the hotel until 1877, when he leased
the operation to Thomas and Elizabeth Glynn. And that would place the
event much later in the 1870's.

Significantly, we do have an account by one of McCauley's twin sons,
Fred McCauley, placing the first Firefall in 1872, and he didn't offer
any explanation for why the fire was built or who was there to witness
it, stating simply: "Father started the Firefall in 1872 when he
pushed his campfire over the Glacier Point cliff."

Fred McCauley went on to detail how he and his twin brother John were
employed to prepare the Firefalls for guests in the valley:

"When my brother and I were eight years old, father bought
each of us a jackass. We attended school by riding our mules down the
Four Mile Trail to the Valley. It took ninety minutes. If a tourist wanted
a Firefall, we collected $1.50, the standard fee, before we rode back
up the trail to Glacier Point. We had a pack animal that we used to carry
provisions for the hotel on our return trip. On the Fourth of July, a
collection often amounted to ten or twenty dollars. Then my brother and
I were packing wood out to the point on our jackasses for at least two
days."

When visitors requested a Firefall they would meet the boys when they left
school at 3:30, which was actually a half hour early. The teacher allowed
their early departure so they could reach home before nightfall. For their
fee, the boys would haul the wood to the top and prepare the fire; and they
were eager to do so, since they not only got out of school early, but also
got to keep all the money. When the family left the hotel in 1897, the boys
had saved some $200 apiece from their Firefall assignment.